Monday night's debate between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump was certainly must-see TV. And to use another cliche, there was much heat but little fire.

This tweet at #starpressdebate distilled the whole affair: "Not bad for a 90 minute debate to have 20 minutes of substance. Actually, more than I thought we would get."

Here's one thing I don't think we did get — a clear winner, despite early poll results reported on CNN saying Clinton overwhelmingly won the debate, in a sample that skewed Democrat.

My take: If you're a Trump supporter before the debate, nothing changed. If you back Clinton, you probably still do.

As for the rest of the electorate, an estimated 18 percent who are undecided, good luck. I don't think this debate provided much crystallization of the candidates. Both scored points and both faltered on some issues, but there was no knockout blow. There was no "gotcha" moment.

I should add a caveat to the above: If you watched the first half-hour of the debate, and then turned over to "Monday Night Football," Trump seemed to more than hold his own over Clinton when discussing broad themes about the economy, skewering her on failed government policies of the past 20 or 30 years. He was effective portraying himself as an outsider and a businessman painting federal policies of higher taxes and more regulations as job killers.

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Jeff Ward.(Photo: The Star Press)

He especially hit hard on trade policies, such as the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as particularly bad for the country, and reminded they happened under President Bill Clinton's administration. That kind of talk ought to play quite nicely in Muncie and the rest of the Midwest, which has only seen only modest economic improvement over the past few years. It's a tall order for Clinton to earn Rust Belt votes when factories have closed and the jobs have moved to Mexico and China. Of note, Trump mentioned the closing of the Carrier Corp. plant in Indianapolis as an example. He could have easily been talking about Muncie.

Clinton attacked by saying "trumped up and trickle down" policies are failed policies. She wanted to see investments in the middle class, debt-free college education and more taxes on the rich, who have benefited the most under the economic recovery.

Clinton performed as one might expect, well-versed on a number of issues, and touching on familiar themes.

And at the risk of sounding like a Trump backer, he seemed to perform and look more "presidential" than in past performances. However, the longer the night wore on, the more he seemed to revert to the familiar Donald — hard to follow, condescending, and straying far from topic. And yes, he did say he had the better temperament to be president, a winning temperament. Well.

Clinton, on the other hand, still can't shake her handling of the email affair.

Let's be honest though, at times, this was not a high-brow affair. Mentions of the birther issue, Howard Stern and Rosie O'Donnell means we were cheated on discussions of real substance. There are still many unanswered questions about how both candidates will lead this nation if they are elected. Guess that's why there will be two more presidential debates.

Jeff Ward is a news columnist for The Star Press. Email him at jward@muncie.gannett.com with tips, suggestions or story ideas.